The illustrated PS3 and the new game will arrive as a bundle in Japan on 17 December for ¥41,600 (£288), a figure that's sure to be inflated many times over when the consoles hit eBay's grey market.

Naturally, the new box will come with a 250GB hard drive, although it's unlikely to ever be released officially outside Japan.

PS3 sales booming

At the same time, Sony announced that sales of the new PS3 slim passed 1 million in its first three weeks in the shops.

Aside from the sleeker case, the lower price has clearly been driving sales. SCE president Kaz Hirai explained:

"The new PS3 has been doing very well, and one of the reasons for this is the price. As a system in the living room, we have managed to realise this price without making any changes to what is good about it."